Poll

Bonnie Strassell - Owen County Historical Society

It galloped across Kentucky, leaving devastation in its wake, but its destructive power also affected the lives of almost every American. Many were at a loss as to how to fight this deadly enemy, and before it vanished the following year, 675,000 Americans had succumbed to its attack.

Images of Owen countians were captured in photographs, their daily lives recorded in letters, diaries and family histories, and stories of their undaunted spirit were shared by one generation to the next.

It is these vital pieces of long ago that bind the past to the present and give us insight into our history.

In a 1950 News-Herald insert, articles written by several Owen countians created a nostalgic journey to bygone days.

For centuries blisters, bunions and boils were treated with home remedies, as were more serious illnesses. From purging to blood letting to herbal poultices, folks treated themselves, their families and their neighbors, using remedies passed down through generations.
With the advent of antibiotics, many old remedies went out of vogue. Although leeches and maggots were used since ancient times, by the 20th century they became a treatment of the past. That is, until recently.

It was said the secret tunnel snaked its way underneath the streets of Owenton from the Owen County Courthouse to one of the nearby banks.
While attending Owen County Schools, Owen County Senior Center Manager Stacy Sipple Long, heard about this underground passage. The story goes that it provided a safe way for a judge to leave the courthouse if he rendered an unpopular verdict.

The early 1900s saw events and advances that changed the face of America.
In 1900 a Small Pox epidemic raged in Kentucky with the state experiencing a 20 percent death rate. Health authorities were demanding everyone in the state receive a vaccination.
In 1901 Marconi sent the first wireless transmission over 2,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, and wireless communication was born.
In September of the same year William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States was assassinated.

19th-century physician, historian and author William Osler wrote: “Soap and water and common sense are the best disinfectants.”
This statement still holds true today, for it has been verified that good old-fashion soap and water are every bit as effective as the most costly sanitizer.
The earliest recipe for soap making was found on a Babylonian clay tablet, dated around 2200 B.C.; and the ancient Egyptians were known to have bathed regularly, using their own special highly-scented soap.

Many sprang up along streams, creeks, and rivers. Others were established where gentle rolling hills cradled rich fertile soil. Their names varied, and over the decades many completely vanished. Yet, their stories serve as a reminder of the vital impact communities have on the culture, traditions, and history of a nation.
A hundred years ago Owen County boasted over 70 communities, many of which are gone. Yet, a glimpse of a once thriving village might be captured on an early deed, in a diary or family story, or happen upon in an old newspaper article.

He was born in Owenton but was raised in Wheatley by his grandmother. As a young boy he was apprenticed to a Wheatley cabinet maker, and when the Civil War broke out in 1861, 17-year-old John Clayton (J.C.) Hartsough joined the Confederate Army. He served in the acclaimed Orphan Brigade, but before long his boyhood naivety was traded for the realities of war.

Historians agree that the winters of 1778, 1779 and, 1780 were the most brutal ones in America.
On Christmas Day, 1779, Daniel Boone and his family traveled across the frozen Kentucky River to a site six miles from Boonesborough and set up camp. Here Boone planted his new settlement of Boone’s Station.